Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Good news for select frequent
travelers of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airways
and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler members. – TSA Pre✓™ is now available at IAD.

You can find the TSA Pre✓™ checkpoint in the center of the departures level of
the main terminal at IAD. This checkpoint is currently the only airport in the
country that has a checkpoint dedicated to TSA Pre✓™ passengers.

In case you’re unfamiliar with TSA Pre✓™, you can read more about it by clicking here. The shorter
version is that it's an initiative that allows certain passengers to keep their
shoes and belts on, and keep their laptops in their bags. Also, it is free to
many members who have been opted in by participating airlines. To see if you
qualify for TSA Pre✓™ benefits,
pleaseclick here.

Why isn't this the standard level of screening for all passengers? I've travelled around the world and the US is the only place I still have to remove my shoes. Why is that? There haven't been any planes blown up around the world where shoes can remain on, so obviously their security works.

The TSA seems to think that if they repeat something over and over, people will start to believe it. I figure if I keep asking a question over and over, the TSA might eventually answer it. We're probably both wrong, but here it goes anyway...

Can you cite any studies that demonstrate any sort of correlation between information PreCheck collects and the risk of a person having terrorist intentions?

Everything I ever read about the de-funded Total Information Awareness program (later called Terrorist Information Awareness) said that no good correlations were ever found. That's not surprising. Since there are very, very few terrorists. Statistically, it would be extremely difficult to find any sort of correlation.

What information could PreCheck candidates possibly reveal about themselves that would demonstrate that they are less risk than the non-PreCheck passenger?

With all the talk about risk-based approaches, I'd like to see some evidence that there's actually some risk-based analysis going on.

Why should Americans provide personal information to the TSA that has a repetitive record of theft? The ABC News report to be broadcast today is the latest example.

"In the latest apparent case of what have been hundreds of thefts by TSA officers of passenger belongings, an iPad left behind at a security checkpoint in the Orlando airport was tracked as it moved 30 miles to the home of the TSA officer last seen handling it.

Confronted two weeks later by ABC News, the TSA officer, Andy Ramirez, at first denied having the missing iPad, but ultimately turned it over after blaming his wife for taking it from the airport."

"Anonymous said... Why should Americans provide personal information to the TSA that has a repetitive record of theft? The ABC News report to be broadcast today is the latest example.

"In the latest apparent case of what have been hundreds of thefts by TSA officers of passenger belongings, an iPad left behind at a security checkpoint in the Orlando airport was tracked as it moved 30 miles to the home of the TSA officer last seen handling it.

Confronted two weeks later by ABC News, the TSA officer, Andy Ramirez, at first denied having the missing iPad, but ultimately turned it over after blaming his wife for taking it from the airport."

September 27, 2012 7:36 AM"----------------------------You forgot to mention the part that stated that TEN iPads were left behind and of those, 9 were returned to passengers. So, while not downplaying the incident why don't you offer some praise for the other 9 while condemning the 1?

@RB: It really is that hard of a question Bob, the answer is either YES or NO!

You forget that you're dealing with the TSA. If Bob wanted to answer your question (which he clearly doesn't), the answer would be "That's SSI!"

Besides protecting National Security, the secrecy of TSA procedures is beneficial because it lets officers evade any accountability for violating them. It also helps Bob and his fellow spokespeople evade questions that passengers have no business asking anyway.

The most likely "real" answer to your question is that the "standard TSA Screening Pat Down" gives officers full discretion to do whatever they want. They're free to "make contact" with whatever they want, with whatever force is necessary, whether to resolve one of the many false alarms the scanners generate or to retaliate and humble a passenger who inconveniences the officer by "opting out" of scanning.

The secrecy of the procedures means that whatever a passenger might accuse an officer of doing, the TSA's investigation will always find that the officer acted properly. By definition, if the officer is empowered to do whatever they want, they always act properly.

(Yes, Bob, I know that the SOPs surely contain voluminous details about the standards and requirements for pat downs, along with and limits to what an officer is allowed to do during a pat down. And it's all written in appropriately opaque bureaucratic language, by a team of subject matter experts.

What you prefer to ignore is that the secrecy of those standards and limits make it impossible for any passenger to know when or if their officer crosses the line from "acting properly" to "improper use of force in retaliation." And the fact that accusations of improper conduct are invariably dismissed with a finding that the officer acted properly indicates that the TSA has absolutely no interest in holding TSOs accountable for following the procedures and heeding the limits.

The secrecy and lack of accountability mean that the SOPs are worthless, except perhaps when their selective disclosure is necessary to defend the TSA from an accusation of malfeasance. In practice, officers enjoy a license to do whatever they want, including retaliation and humbling of passengers. Officers know that if a passenger complains, their bosses will stand behind them. They can count on the fact that any "investigation" will find that the officer acted properly, and that the passenger was either a liar or guilty of causing whatever went wrong.

This secrecy and lack of accountability one important reason why so many people despise and distrust the TSA.)

Anonymous said... Why should Americans provide personal information to the TSA that has a repetitive record of theft? The ABC News report to be broadcast today is the latest example.

"In the latest apparent case of what have been hundreds of thefts by TSA officers of passenger belongings, an iPad left behind at a security checkpoint in the Orlando airport was tracked as it moved 30 miles to the home of the TSA officer last seen handling it.

Confronted two weeks later by ABC News, the TSA officer, Andy Ramirez, at first denied having the missing iPad, but ultimately turned it over after blaming his wife for taking it from the airport."

Why don't you stop wasting the public's time with pointless programs and posts of gotcha and deal with the internal bull crap that's going on with corrupted TSA agents which probably extends to executive irresponsibility!

"Bungling TSA airport screeners at Orlando International Airport failed to notice a loaded handgun in a woman’s carry-on bag yesterday — and she was able to fly to New Jersey with the pistol in her purse.

United Flight 15 was already in the air when the passenger, an unidentified 37-year-old Florida woman, realized her .380 caliber Ruger was in her handbag, said Port Authority police spokesman Al Della Fave."

Please make sure your next blog is about the 10% theft rate reported by ABC News and the "freeze drills" being conducted in cleared areas.

I asked a TSA screener what he thought of the 4th Amendment while he was fondling me the last time I flew. He said "I don't worry about it."

Now that it's been revealed that TSA is so corrupt that 1 out of 10 items sent through will turn up missing, and so inefficient that they feel the need to ruin drinks purchased in the cleared area and demand that everyone stop moving in case something got through that they missed, I don't think I'll ever fly again unless it's absolutely necessary.

Anonymous said...You forgot to mention the part that stated that TEN iPads were left behind and of those, 9 were returned to passengers. So, while not downplaying the incident why don't you offer some praise for the other 9 while condemning the 1?

Oh, so only 1 in 10 TSA agents steals from passengers. Phew, that's a load off my mind....

But seriously- one does not get praise for doing what they are supposed to do. You get to keep your job, and get paid.

"Bungling TSA airport screeners at Orlando International Airport failed to notice a loaded handgun in a woman’s carry-on bag yesterday — and she was able to fly to New Jersey with the pistol in her purse.

Unfortunately, that's nothing surprising. The latest figures show that the TSA misses up to 70% of weapons and bombs. (Yes, the figures are a few years old, but if the TSA had newer results that were any better, they'd surely release them.)

I'm in the trusted traveler program, in Global Access and Nexus, a Platinum Aadvantage member, and still I've been rejected from TSA Pre-Check for a good 8 times straight. Very frustrating, and no one can give me a reason why. I am wondering what I paid the extra money for and subjected myself to a background check for??

Stating 3 million passengers have been screened may be elusive to the per-screening program. I would be curious to see how many travelers there have been in total and acquire a percentage of those who are using the program and investigate the benefit of how efficient the program has been to passengers.